Chapter 5
The fox and dragon clan leaders immediately stepped in to challenge Bella’s claim.
“We do not recognize this half-beast. The original agreement clearly stated the child must be born of a union between a human and the firstborn son of a beast clan household.”
“If the wolves start bending the rules like this, what happens to bloodline purity? Who knows what kind of monsters we’d end up with?”
“Hmph. This matter requires the unanimous consent of the remaining four clans. As far as the fox and dragon clans are concerned, we firmly disagree.”
The phoenix clan, standing quietly to the side, also voiced their stance.
“Our clan has long withdrawn from worldly affairs. We will not participate in these political decisions.”
Four clans. One abstained. Two objected. As for the lowly snake clan… no one even bothered to ask their opinion.
Whatever sliver of hope Jacob had felt after hearing Bella’s words instantly vanished. Rage consumed him once more.
“Bella, look at what you’ve done! You’ve disgraced the entire wolf clan!”
On our way home after the spectacle, Draco remained unusually quiet. Only after my persistent prodding did he finally speak his
mind.
“You were staring at that red wolf just now… Were you thinking I’m not good-looking enough?”
His jealous tone made me grin, and just like that, I decided to tease him.
“To me, no one’s more handsome than you, Draco. Especially at night… in bed…”
I didn’t get out of bed for an entire day after that.
A month later, Bella showed up at the snake clan, battered and bruised, begging for my help. Her eyes were red with tears.
“Clarice… please, help me. Jacob’s gone mad. He says if I can’t give him a child that’s truly his, he’ll torture me every single day. I can’t take it anymore. If I don’t get pregnant soon, I’ll die. Do you know any secret techniques that can help?”
Her words didn’t shock me in the slightest. After all, I had lived through this nightmare in my past life.
Bruises covered her exposed skin, fresh wounds layered over old scars. But she had brought all of this upon herself.
In my previous life, she tricked me into coming home, pretending she missed me. Then she drugged the water my son and I drank. When we were too weak to resist, she set the house ablaze and trapped us inside.
I still remembered the way she looked at me before leaving-eyes mad with hatred as she screamed, “Clarice, your life was supposed to be mine! I should have married into the wolf clan! I should have borne their heir!”
Now that she had stolen my life for herself, what was there to regret?
I gently pulled my hand free from hers and calmly replied, “Bella, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. It’s simply that pregnancy between humans and beastkin is incredibly rare. After giving birth, your body was damaged… it’ll take at least three to five years before you can even try again.”
Bella shot to her feet, her eyes flashing with fury.
“You’re lying! You just don’t want to help me! You can’t stand to see me happy! I don’t need your help. I’ll find another way! You think you can beat me to it? You’ll never give birth before I do!”
She flung open the door and stormed out.
1/2
+15 Bonus
I could only shake my head.
Everything I said was true. Pregnancy between species simply couldn’t be forced.
In my past life, the only reason I succeeded was because of the mermaid blood that flowed through my veins.
Back when war broke out, the merfolk refused to ally with humans and retreated into the ocean depths, cutting ties with the outside world.
My mother, still young and reckless at the time, had shapeshifted into human form and ventured onto land, where she fell in love with my father at first sight.
To stay with him, she severed her tail and transformed permanently into a human. It cost her dearly-she only had five years left to live. Before she died, she gave birth to me and sealed away my beastly nature.
Merfolk are naturally fertile. In my past life, I broke the seal on my beast blood to bear Jacob a child. It was a slow form of suicide.
Though I eventually succeeded in conceiving, my mermaid essence drained day by day… until my life ran out.
This time, I would never sacrifice myself so foolishly again.
I thought I’d made peace with the idea of never becoming pregnant in this life, until something unexpected happened.
Two months later, one night, Draco placed a hand on my belly… and suddenly froze.
“Clarice,” he asked, “when was the last time you had your period?”
I stopped and thought carefully. It had indeed been almost two months.
My belly had only slightly rounded, so I just assumed I’d gained a little weight.
I stared at him, stunned. “That can’t be. Can it?”
